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Michael Alford was born in Cookham, England, grew up in Germany and attended Rugby School. His earliest art training came from his father, a colonel in the Royal Engineers, who taught him to draw in perspective from a young age. After a stint in the Royal Marines, Michael went on to Durham University where he studied Spanish and Arabic. He travelled extensively in South America and the Middle East, keeping detailed sketchbooks to record his experiences. This series of early drawings reveals a talent for the figurative depiction of cities, human figures, and natural scenes, the subjects that form the core of his work to this day.

Returning to the United Kingdom, Michael pursued studies at the Slade School and the Chelsea School of Art before launching a successful painting career. Known for his ability to blend classical technique with a sharp, modern sensibility, his work can be found in public and private collections around the world. He exhibits regularly in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States and continental Europe. He has been awarded several prizes including the Green and Stone Oil Painting Prize, the Agnes Reeve Memorial Prize for best painting of London, and the Prima Luce Mural prize. His work has been chosen for exhibit by the Royal Society of Oil Painters. Michael is a serving council member of the Chelsea Arts Society.

Michael’s body of work is varied, reflecting his interests in many aspects of life as well as his skill in a variety of media. He is best known for masterful cityscapes of contemporary urban centres such as London, New York and Barcelona. Continuing his practice of painting while travelling, Michael regularly produces plein air paintings and watercolour sketches of landscapes as diverse as Dorset and Oman.